Plasma is the most common state of matter. For example, the sun is mostly plasma. It also contains neon signs and fluorescent lamps.

There is a so-called "cold plasma" that can be produced quite easily in laboratory conditions. Unlike hot, the constituents (electrons, neutrons, protons) of a cold one do not have the same temperature: in a cold plasma, only electrons are superheated, and their density is low enough for the entire plasma to exist at room temperature.

Scientists have been studying the properties of cold plasma for about 15 years. It was found that seeds treated with plasma are more likely to germinate and take root.

Plasma is created using air as the starting gas. Subsequently it mixes up with water. Nitrogen from the air, having become part of the plasma, also enters the water, but is already as biologically available for plants. Since most plants are unable to fix nitrogen on their own, this plasma treatment could theoretically create an inexpensive, highly effective, almost ecological fertilizer.

Research has also shown that cold plasma is extremely effective in killing bacteria, including Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli. True, all properties have not yet been studied. Nobody knows exactly how much plasma needs to be used, for how long, in what way, and the like.

But practical research results are convincing that it will soon be possible to use cold plasma to increase crop yields, kill bacteria, and also in the development of environmentally friendly fertilizers.

agronom